College basketball coaching legend Bob Huggins apologized on Monday after audio of him saying “Catholic f*gs” went viral.
Huggins issued the slur while speaking on the air with 700 WLW as he discussed an incident during one of the Crosstown Shootouts that Huggins had coached in. According to Huggins, he said Xavier players wouldn’t transfer to West Virginia, where he now coaches, because “Catholics don’t do that” and called them “f*gs.”
“Any school that can throw rubber penises on the floor and then say they didn’t do it, by god they can get away with anything,” Huggins said.
“I think it was transgender night wasn’t it?” responded Cunningham.
“It was a Crosstown Shootout, yea, no, what it was, was all those f*gs, those Catholic f*gs, I think,” said Huggins.
“They were envious they didn’t have one,” Huggins added.
The comment came just after Huggins had been inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
⚠️ Here’s the audio of Bob Huggins calling Xavier fans “Catholic f–s” during an appearance on Bill Cunningham’s WLW radio show in Cincinnati pic.twitter.com/JTftGx9rQE
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 8, 2023
Huggins later released an apology for his comments and made no excuse.
“Earlier today on a Cincinnati Radio Program, I was asked about the rivalry between my former employer, the University of Cincinnati, and its crosstown rival, Xavier University. During the conversation, I used a completely insensitive and abhorrent phrase that there is simply no excuse for – and I won’t try to make one here,” he said.
“I deeply apologize to the individuals I have offended, as well as to the Xavier University community, the University of Cincinnati, and West Virginia University,” he added. “As I have shared with my players over my 40 years of coaching, there are consequences for our words and actions, and I will fully accept any coming my way. I am ashamed and embarrassed and heartbroken for those I have hurt. I must do better, and I will.”
— WVU Men’s Basketball (@WVUhoops) May 8, 2023
⚠️ Here’s the audio of Bob Huggins calling Xavier fans “Catholic f–s” during an appearance on Bill Cunningham’s WLW radio show in Cincinnati pic.twitter.com/JTftGx9rQE
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 8, 2023
Paul Roland Bois joined Breitbart News in 2021. He also directed the award-winning feature film, EXEMPLUM, which can be viewed on Tubi, Google Play, YouTube Movies, or VIMEO On Demand. Follow him on Twitter @prolandfilms or Instagram @prolandfilms.